A Look at Neolithic Cultures at 'Ain Ghazal, Jordan

‘Ain Ghazal is one of the largest settlements to be excavated in Jordan but despite this we only know a fraction of the history and the people who once called this place home.

There were four phases during the Neolithic period in this region – the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (MPPNB), the L ate Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB), the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC), and the Yannoukian Pottery Neolithic, which spans an occupation time from c. 7250 to 5000 BCE.

First discovered in the 1970s due to the construction of the Amman-Zarqa highway, it has been estimated that at least 10% of the site and what it can tell has been lost. However, continual archaeological excavations can help recover as much as possible.

At the beginning of the MPPNB period, ‘Ain Ghazal was a small village and reached a size of 4 to 5 ha by 6500 BCE. This remarkable expansion occurred in only a couple of centuries, and included the establishment of the Eastern Enclave from across the Zarqa River. One explanation for this expansion is the addition of ‘relatives’ from farming villages recently abandoned, such as Jericho, and by migrants from the surrounding area.

The site continued to grow in size and community awareness and closeness. Architectural remains suggest that by the end of the LPPNB period ‘Ain Ghazal had around 2500 inhabitants. Red ochre was used to decorate burnished plasterboards in the MPPNB period. This was a practice that was used by these people and was continued into the LPPNB and the PPNC periods, but the technique of using the pigment is something unique to the MPPNB people.

“In the LPPNB and PPNC phases, the few floors that have been exposed by excavation were coated thoroughly and thickly with the red colouring, evidently applied with a "broad brush"(in the figurative sense; the actual application technique is not known), but in the MPPNB every floor with paint shows that a "finger-painting' approach was used, evidenced by parallel and sub parallel lines. This technique allowed for intriguing designs, some of which may have been stylized representations of bird feathers. Even on floors with wall-to-wall fields of red pigment, does inspection reveals the finger-painting method”.

It wasn’t until the Yannoukian period that pottery manufacturing became a traditional thing. Pottery remains that have been found from this phase include coarse and fine wares in the form of jars, bowls and cups.

Burials from this site conform to a mortuary cult from the Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic phase. The deceased were beheaded and then buried under the floors of the homes. This practice emphasise the importance of family and community ritual in the Neolithic periods and went on to influence later religions and cults.

The Neolithic people of this region are of great importance to our understanding of ancient cultures in the Middle East and how they influenced later and neighbouring cultures. Continual excavations here will shed more light into these fascinating people.

Bibliography:

Rollefson, Gary O., Simmons, Alan H. & Kafafi, Zeidan (1992) Neolithic Cultures at 'Ain Ghazal, Jordan, Journal of Field Archaeology, Boston University.